Feel the Beat
by sherrie123456
Summary: Lilly was always being forced to take lessons, and she hated it. Yet, when she learned Joe Gray was her new guitar teacher, it suddenly didn't seem so bad. LOE.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Joe Gray, My Teacher?

Joe Gray was your typical bad boy. He was in a band, the Gray Brother's, with obviously, his brothers. While the others had kept their pure image, Joe didn't. His parents had caught him smoking pot, although he only tried it twice, and his mom caught him drunk three times. She had tried grounding him, but since he always had to attend parties for publicity and do all his concerts, that punishment clearly wasn't working. After putting some thought into it, she decided to make him get a job. He was going to give guitar lessons.

"Mom, this is ridiculous. I don't have time for a job! We practice like everyday, and I need time to sleep and stuff!" Joe fought with his mother. No way was Joe Gray going to get a job.

"Joe, this isn't something you can argue. I've already decided for you. You need to start learning some responsibility." Denise Jonas said sternly.

"You can't just decide things for me. I'm eighteen years old, Mother." Joe rolled his eyes.

"I don't care if you eighteen or forty, Joe! As long as you're living under my roof, you'll do as I say." Mrs. Gray laid down the law. "And right now, I'm saying that tomorrow at 1:00 you're going to you're first day of work at John's Guitars, giving some excited kid lessons, and you're going to be pleasant. Understood?"

Joe rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yes. I understand, and I am SO thrilled, you don't even know!" Joe added sarcastically, then went up to his room to sulk. So what if he had made a few mistakes? He was just a teenager after all. What could they expect from him? Sorry that the rocks star life got stressful sometimes, and he needed a release. Sorry that he wasn't perfect like his brothers.

The door dinged as a natural blond, known as Lilly Truscott, walked through going straight to the front desk. The smell of this store was familiar to her. Lilly's mom, Vivian Truscott, was a strong believer that being able to read and play music helped kids learn better, and get better grades. Since Lilly was six, she had been forced to play. She'd done violin, piano, flute, viola, and cello, but had rejected them all. Learning to play wasn't fun for her. It was more of a chore. The day after Lilly told her mom she was quitting cello, Vivian came home with a new acoustic guitar.

"Hi, I'm here for a guitar lesson… Lilly Truscott." She told the woman behind the front desk.

"Ah, yes, just go into room 7, I'm sure you know where it is." The woman smiled. Lilly smiled back snidely. Most of the people here knew her because she had been coming since she was six.

Lilly walked down the hall to a room she had been in so many times before. Once she got there she wondered if the woman had told her the wrong room. Some one was in there, and she could hear them playing softly. She slowly pushed the door open. A shaggy dark haired boy with a leather jacket and skinny jeans was sitting strumming his guitar with his head down, his hair falling into his eyes.

"Sorry… I guess I have the wrong room." Lilly apologized, slowly backing out of the room. Suddenly the boy looked up.

"Lilly Truscott?" The boy looked up, reading my name off a paper now in his hands. This boy just so happened to be Joe Fray. Joe fucking gray is my guitar teacher? I felt myself blush. I had never been obsessed with him or his brothers, but I always thought Joe was extremely cute.

"Uh, yeah, that's me." I said, standing in the doorway, feeling awkward, with my guitar hanging from my left hand.

"Alright, then you don't have the wrong room." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. The smile didn't seem too happy. "You're here for a guitar lesson, right?"

She walked further into the small room, and lifted up her guitar for him to see. "Yup,"

"Well, okay then. Let's get started. You can have a seat here," He said, patting the stool next to him. Lilly obeyed. Although Joe Gray was her teacher, and she was sitting so close to him that she could smell him, Lilly couldn't help but be angry that she was wasting a perfect summer afternoon learning how to play another dumb instrument when she could be skate boarding. She frowned.

"Well, I guess I should introduce myself," Joe said, extending his hand. "I'm Joe, but you probably know that."

Lilly shook it, "And I'm Lilly… but you know that." She added laughing, slightly embarrassed. Oh wow… this would be a long hour.

Hey guys. I've wanted to do a Loe, and Im bored and can't sleep so I did this. I'll add more soon.

SHERRIE.

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	2. Chapter 2

Getting to Know Each Other

Lilly sat on her stool, next to Joe who was on his stool with his back slouched against the wall.

It had been silent for a few minutes, and Lilly was wanting to yell at her mom for making her come. This was so awkward, and neither of them seemed to want to be there! Joe appeared to be thinking.

"So… where to start…" Joe wondered out loud. "Have you…no…do you…? Um…. Have you ever played guitar before?" Joe asked, finally thinking of something that could help get them started.

"Nope." Lilly answered shortly.

"Can you read music?" He asked her, hoping.

"Yeah, my mom's been making me play different instruments since I was six." She answered.

Joe blew out his minty breath and nodded. "Well then… I guess we could, um…Oh god this is embarrassing," Joe finally admitted, blushing. He finally turned to look at her, facing Lilly on his stool. "Honestly, I've never done this before and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do."

Lilly set the guitar on the ground, bored of holding it, and leaned her back against the wall. "Just a thought… but I think you're supposed to be teaching me how to play guitar. That's usually how it goes…" She smirked.

Joe smiled at her sarcastically. "Yes, I'm aware. I just don't know where to start. And you don't even have your guitar anymore…" He said, confused, looking at it on the ground.

"Yeah, well since you were honest with me… I don't really want to learn guitar. I'm being forced. Just like I was forced to play the cello and violin." Lilly laughed with no humor in her voice.

"Ah, I see." Joe said, and then started strumming on his own guitar for a couple minutes. Lilly just sat and listened. It almost made her want to learn to play. After a few minutes, Joe hit a bad note. He sent the guitar down on the ground. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is we leave the guitar playing to Nick and Kevin." He joked, smiling genuinely. Lilly laughed along with him.

"So, if you're mom asks what you learned on your first day with me… what are you going to tell her?" Joe asks.

"She won't ask." Lilly answered, sure of herself.

"Yeah, but what if something rare happens and she does ask? What are you going to say? I don't want to get in trouble with the first job I've had. My mom would be pissed." Joe smiled.

"Okay… I understand that. I'll tell her that my new guitar teacher taught me nothing at all, and that she should call and complain about him." Lilly said, smiling innocently.

Joe glared at her, "Lilly…" He warned. It sounded nice when he said her name.

"Kidding! I'll say 'Oh mom I learned SO much with Joe, but I want to show it to you well I'm all done and I want it to be a surprise!'" Lilly acted. Joe laughed whole-heartedly with her

"Good, that's good." Joe took out his cell phone and checked the time. "Well, since we have about thirty minutes left, I guess we could get to know each other a little better. We will be seeing each other twice a week now." Joe said, poking her side.

Lilly smiled. "That sounds terrible." She joked. Joe glared again. "Kidding! Again." Lilly giggled.

"Well I already know one thing about you…" Joe smirked.

"And what's that?" Lilly asked curiously.

"You have terrible jokes." Joe smiled. Lilly smacked his arm playfully.

"Hey! I didn't think they were that bad!" Lilly smiled.

"Did I say bad? I meant hilarious! Knee slappers." Joe said sarcastically. "Okay, so back to this getting to know each other thing, what is your favorite color?"

Lilly laughed and rolled her eyes. "My favorite color? Seriously? Joe, are we five?" Lilly laughed uncontrollably.

Joe gave her a death glare. "Fine… we can sit here in silence. Fine with me."

Lilly tried not to smile. "Okay… I'm sorry, that was a great question. My favorite color is pink. How old are you?"

"Eighteen, and you?" He replied.

"Seventeen, I'll be eighteen in a month." Lilly answered.

"What's your favorite animal?" Joe asked her.

"Frog. Favorite food?" After they had asked all the easy questions they could think of, they still had fifteen minutes left, so the harder ones started coming out.

"Why don't you want to play guitar?" Joe asked her.

Lilly shrugged, thinking for a second. "I guess I've just wasted so much time learning to play instruments, hoping that I'll love playing at least one of them, but it's never happened. My mom thinks 'well balanced' kids know how to read music and all that jazz, so she makes me do this. I just feel like I'm wasting my time, like I could be out skate boarding or something, ya know?" Lilly tried to explain. Joe was looking at her, deeply interested.

"Yeah, I get that. Sometimes I feel like there's so many more things I could do if I wasn't in the band. Like when I was younger, I wanted to be a comedian. I don't know if that's what I'd do now, but I would like to have a normal life. Hang out with friends, like you probably get too. That's what I want." Joe told her, looking into her eyes.

Lilly nodded, thinking of another question. "So, why are you working here? I mean, it's not like you need the money or anything, and you just said you wanted more free time. This doesn't really seem like the way to get that." Lilly laughed dryly.

Joe looked thoughtful for a second. "Basically the same reason you're here. My moms making me. Which I know sounds ridiculous, because I'm eighteen and all, but there's nothing I can do about it. She thinks I've been making bad choices lately, and she wants me to learn some responsibility." Joe said looking down.

"Bad choices?" Lilly asked curiously, wondering what kind of trouble a Gray Brother could get himself into.

Joe just nodded his head. "Yup… bad choices." He knew what Lilly wanted to know what these bad choices were, but he didn't want her to think less of him.

Lilly tried to get him to look at her. "Come on Joe… you've been honest this far. Why stop now?" Lilly chuckled.

Joe finally turned to her, a lopsided grin on his face. "Who says I've been honest this far?" He saw a flash of anger in Lilly's eyes. "Kidding, kidding."

Joe sighed, about to answer. "My mom caught me drinking a few times, and smoking pot."

Lilly nodded her head understandingly. "But that's like everyday teenage things…" Lilly said curiously.

"Yeah, I know. My parents though… they expect so much more from us. They expect us to be as mature as forty year olds, I swear. I mean, I don't want to act like I'm forty! For god's sake, I'm feeling old at eighteen." Joe exclaimed.

Lilly laughed and patted his shoulder. "It's okay, I don't expect you to act like your forty." Lilly joked.

Joe looked at her with mock thankfulness. "Oh Lilly! Thank you! I appreciate that so much!"

After they were done laughing, Lilly asked Joe what time it was. "2:07." He answered.

"Oh shit, I should go," She said, jumping down from her stool and walking towards the door. "Thanks for the lesson!" She laughed and walked out of the room.

About a second after she got in her car, there was a tapping on her window. Lilly jumped, startled. She saw it was Joe and opened her door.

"Jesus, you scared me!" Lilly said, her hand over her heart.

Joe laughed, "Sorry about that, but you forgot your guitar." Lilly took it from him and put it in the back seat.

"Thank you," She said, smiling at him.

"No problem," He replied, shutting her door gently. "See you Tuesday, Lilly." He said through the open window, leaning down.

Lilly nodded. "See you Tuesday, Joe" She smiled, and drove away. Being excited for her next lesson was new for her, but she started thinking guitar lessons may not be so bad…

Thank you guys for reading and reviewing and alerting and all the jazz. Please leave a review for this chapter!

SHERRIE

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	3. Chapter 3

Feel The Beat

Chapter 3

Lily was at Panera the day after her lesson with her best friend, Oliver. They were sitting down eating their food, when Lily felt Oliver looking over her shoulder.

He scoffed, "Why is that guy wearing glasses in here? And that hood? What a fool." Oliver smirked.

Lily leaned over and whacked Oliver's head. She immediately recognized the dark locks. "That's Joe Gray, you doughnut." Lily said quietly and calmly, while rolling her eyes.

"Lils?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah" She answered.

"Was that really necessary?" He asked, shaking his head dramatically. Lily just laughed and went back to her food. "And why are you so calm, Joe Gray is here?!" Oliver asked, suspiciously.

"I don't know, I mean, we've met lots of stars with Hannah, Mike. Do you still get star struck?" Lilly said. Trying to cover up because she hadn't told Oliver that Joe was her new guitar teacher.

"Well, no, I guess not. But Lils, it's Joe freaking Gray. He's a BABE." Oliver exclaimed, then turned to make sure that the boy, who was now in line, hadn't hear him.

"Have a little crush, Ollie?" Lily asked, moving her eyebrows suggestively.

Oliver gasped, "Must I remind you that I have a girlfriend, Lillian!"

Lilly looked around. Oliver's loud gasp had people staring at them. "Oliver! A little quieter, please." She said tensely.

Feeling Oliver looking over her shoulder again, Lily sighed. "Who is it now? Orlando Bloom?"

"Sorry to let you down, but it's just Joe." Lily turned bright red as she instantly recognized that voice. Turning around, she saw Joe standing right behind her, his hand on the back of her chair. Oliver sat in a shocked daze. "Hey, Lily." He said, smiling.

"Oh hey Joe, what are you doing here?" She asked.

Joe smiled crookedly, "Same as you, I suppose, eating."

Lily laughed nervously, "Right. Of course you are."

Nodding and still smiling, Joe said, "Well, I gotta go get this food back to Nick. I'll see you tomorrow." He finished, walking away. He turned back, just as the blush was finally draining Lily's cheeks, "And don't be late, Lily!" He added playfully, waving as he headed out the door with his food bag in hand.

"Lily." Oliver stated shortly.

"Yes?"

"Why will you be seeing Joe freaking Gray tomorrow?" Oliver asked, his face turning into a smile.

Lily blushed, looking down. "Calm down, Oliver, he's just my guitar teacher." Lily informed him.

"Wait a second, he's been teaching you?" Oliver asked, stunned.

"Taught me. One time. I just started." Lily said.

"Joe Gray is your guitar teacher, and you didn't tell me! Lily, we've been together all day!" Oliver exclaimed.

"Minor detail, Ollie." Lilly stated peacefully.

"Pysche! Having a Gray brother for a guitar teacher is most definitely not a minor detail!" Oliver said, shaking his head.

"Alright, alright, sorry." Lily muttered sheepishly.

Oliver smiled, "Your forgiven. Does Miley know?" He asked.

"Nope. Busy with-" Lily started, but Oliver finished for her.

"Hannah. Like usual." Oliver said and nodded understandingly. That's what Lily loved about their relationship. They understood each other, often finishing one another's sentences. Her and Oliver had been best friends since kindergarden. Miley too, but since she was always busy with being Hannah Montana, lily was closer to Oliver.

He checked his phone. "Oh shit, I have to go. I'm supposed to be taking Henry to karate, uh, five minutes ago." Oliver got up and hugged Lily quickly, and ran out to his car.

Soon after Oliver, Lily also left. Deciding to take the long way home, Lily rolled down the windows and blasted the music. Her favorite song, "Young Crazed and Peeling" by the Distillers was booming from the stereo. Driving was Lily's getaway from reality. Whenever she needed a break from her mother, who would ever be acrimonious about her divorce, or from her stoner brother, she'd just get in her car and drive. She usually took Oliver with her. He always went along wherever she needed him, another thing she loved about him.

Lily woke up late the next morning, forgetting she had an early lesson. She quickly grabbed an old Ramones shirt off the ground, and slipped into her black skinny jeans, tying her gray converse tight before she ran out the door.

Her hair askew, Lily ran into the room, all out of breath. "Sorry I'm late!" She exclaimed.

Joe just laughed. "It's fine. But um, where's your guitar?"

Lily hit her forehead. "Shit. I'm such a retard."

Joe laughed at her again. "Yes, you are. Who comes to a guitar lesson without their guitar? But don't worry about it. Just sit down and I'll go get you one."

She sighed and sat down, embarrassed. Joe walked back into the room after not long, with a guitar in hand.

"Alright, so I know you don't want to learn how to play, and I don't really know how to teach you, but we're going to figure something out, okay?" Joe said, smiling slightly. "After all, your mom is paying me to teach you something."

"Sounds good. But just a question, how did you get this job, if you can't even teach?"

"I'm Joe Gray." He said simply with a joking grinned. Lily laughed and rolled her eyes.

Joe turned in his chair so they were now facing each other. "Well, I thought we could pick a song from like one of your favorite bands or something, and then we can figure out how to play it." Joe explained, smiling, clearly proud that he had come up with this idea. Lily thought it was cute.

"So, what's your favorite band?" He asked.

Lily didn't have to think about that. "The Distillers."

Joe's face lit up."I think I actually have one of their CDs here with me! This will be easier than I thought!"

She was shocked, "Joe Gray, lead singer of the Gray Brothers, listens to the Distillers?!" Lily said, astonished.

He just laughed. "What, did you think I sat around and listened to myself all day? Truthfully, that's not even really my type of music." Joe said with a slight smile.

"You're a puzzle to me." Lily muttered.

"What was that?" He asked, not missing a beat. Lily blushed.

"Oh nothing, sorry." She mumbled. As Joe was fishing for the CD from his guitar case, a familiar song went off.

"Ain't nobody dope as me I'm dressed so fresh so clean. Don't you think I'm so sexy I'm dressed so fresh so clean." So Fresh, So Clean by Outkast was coming from Joe's phone. Lily burst into a sudden fit of laughter. Joe looked up at her while quickly silencing his phone. He read the caller ID, rolled his eyes, and ignored the call.

"Are you making fun of my ringtone?" Joe asked, playfully upset.

Smiling, Lily answered, "Maybee."

"Well, what's yours?" He asked cockily.

"Vibrate." Lily answered quickly, pushing her phone further down into her pocket.

"No it's not." Joe said smirking.

Lily nodded. "Sure is. Always vibrate."

Joe pouted. "You know mine, why can't I know yours?" He said with a cute puppy face.

Lily put up her hands defensively. "I told you, vibrate." Lily thought this was over but all the sudden Joe stood up, wiggling his fingers at her.

"I guess I have no other choice..." He said in a dark, yet kidding, voice. He moved in and started tickling her sides.

"No....! So... ticklish-Joe!" Lilly choked out between laughs. "Okay! I surrender!" She shouted, throwing her hands up to show that she gave in. Joe leaned back and smiled at her. She couldn't help but smile back. "OKay... don't make fun of me... it's Love bug. Lily blushed, practically whispering, partly because of how close they still were.

Joe smiled, shaking his head, "You went through all that, just to hide that I was your ringtone?" He spoke slowly.

Lily shrugged, casting her stare down. She looked back up moments later, and he was still watching her intently. She just looked back for a minute. He seemed to be in deep thought.

After what seemed like forever, Joe broke the silent stare. "Right! The CD!" He said backing away, quickly going back to rummaging through his bag.


	4. Chapter 4

The first song is Games, by the Jonas Brothers, and the second one is Dismantle Me by the Distillers. I don't own either of them, obviously. hha.

Thank you guys for readingg and the reviews! i really appreaciate them!

Feel the Beat

Chapter Four

You Deserve Me

"Will you care

When I'm gone

And it's time

And I've really had enough

And I'm sorry

For the trouble" Lilly heard Joe's voices singing softly as she opened the door slowly, being a few minutes early for her lesson.

Suddenly the door creaked and Joe looked up, startled.

Lilly blushed, "Sorry, did you want me to leave?" she asked shyly, already backing out.

Joe put his hand on the edge of the shutting door to stop it. He laughed, "It's fine Lilly, you can come in." He smiled at the cute blush on her cheeks. "Have a seat," he said.

Lilly noticed he was writing something down, and she sneakily tried to see what it was. It seemed to be the lyrics he was just singing. It was hard to tell though, because he was scribbling down quickly, as if he didn't want to forget them. His eyebrows were furrowed and his tongue was poking out of the side of his mouth. He looked so cute, concentrating so hard like that. Lilly chuckled quietly.

He heard her and glanced up. A blush crept onto his face when he realized what he was doing. He laughed slightly, "Sorry. I was in a bad mood today and I couldn't get any peace at home to write, so I came here, and it started flowing. I forgot to write it down, then I didn't want to forget it." Joe explained. Lilly nodded understandingly.

"What were you in a bad mood about?" She asked curiously. Joe looked up at her, then shrugged his shoulders slightly. Lilly waited for a minute, waiting to see if he would answer. When he didn't, she said, "What, you don't want to tell me?" half jokingly.

Joe sighed heavily. "I don't know, I've just been confused I guess" he stated.

This made Lilly more curious. "Confused? About...?"

"I don't want to bore you with my problems. I swear, Nick always falls asleep." Joe smirked. Lilly nodded.

"Well I told you about this whole getting in trouble lately thing, and my mom making me work. And I don't know, it's just taking up a lot of my time, you know? Not that it bothers to me that much anymore, I kind of like having time to myself. But I'm not really allowed to go out that much, mainly because my mom doesn't trust me anymore, and that's been really been bothering Emily-"

"Emily?" Lilly interrupted.

"Yeah, oh Emily's my girlfriend." Joe felt an ache in his chest when he saw the hurt and disappointment in Lilly's eyes. He automatically wished he could take it back.

"Oh, I see. Well, continue..." She said, trying to sound nonchalant, when it was actually felt like a blow to the heart. Sure, Joe was good looking, but she didn't like him, did she? Even if she did, it's not like he'd ever like her. Not in a million years. He was a big rock star, she's just average Lilly.

"Like I said, Emily's been pissed that I can't take her out. Which I guess I understand, but I am always inviting her over to just hang out, you know, watch a movie and have dinner at home, but she always refuses. She just wants me to take her out to clubs, and fancy restaurants, so now I feel like she's just using me. Now she calls me non stop and she's all 'Joeyy when are you going to be able to go out?' and I'm just sick of it. I wish she could just be happy being with me." While Lilly was listening interestedly to his talk, Joe blushed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to go on that rant, I just feel so comfortable talking to you." There he went, embarrassing himself again. He didn't know what it was about Lilly, he was usually so smooth with the ladies.

Lilly giggled. "Don't worry about it. I'll always be here to listen." Lilly smiled, although it was hard, having just heard about Joe's girlfriend.

Joe flashed her a smile, then grabbed a CD case off the piano bench, that was in the small room they were in. He held it in the air, then put it in the boom box that was also on the piano bench. He pressed the skip button until he found the track he was looking for.

As soon as the music started playing, Lilly smiled. He had chosen her favorite song without even knowing.

"I fancy you

But I've been Destitute

And all I know dissolved

I could never reundo you

I will always say it's so

I will always speak the truth" The Distillers' main singer, Brody, voice boomed through the speakers.

Joe was pleased that she was smiling. "This is my favorite song by them," She informed him."

"So I did good?" He asked. Lilly nodded, smiling. "Good." Joe said. "Because I already got the sheet music." he smiled, pulling out of his coat pocket.

"It's going to be kind of hard, but if we do it a little a time, I think we'll figure it out." Joe said.

They worked on reading the music, and that took basically the rest of practice.

"See you later," he said as she was leaving.

"Yep, and thanks." Lilly said, walking out the door, but then she turned back, "And Joe?" Lilly waited.

He looked up, seeming surprised to see her there. "Yeah?"

"I think that you deserve someone who is happy to be with you, even if you're just sitting at home." She smiled softly, as she turned and left.

Joe smiled and shook his head after Lilly left. That girl sure was something.

Lilly was sitting at home after her lesson, checking her emails, when she got a call from Miley.

"Hello?" She said calmly.

"LILS! HOW ARE YOU?!" Miley shrieked. Lilly winced. She loved Miley, but sometimes she was just so girly.

"I'm good, how are you, Miles?" She asked.

"Gooood. Oliver told me you were taking guitar lessons with JOE!?" Miley giggled. Damn Oliver.

Lilly sighed. "Yep, I am."

"Well... how is it? He's a total babe, right?!" the pop-star babbled. "Are you busy? You should come over! I miss you, Lils." Miley said, finally in her normal voice. This melted Lilly a little bit. Miley was her best friend, even if they were completely different. And she missed her too.

"Sure, I'll be over in ten." Lilly said hanging up. Oliver was busy anyway.

Hey guys! sorry this is short I was trying to get an update for you. I know I suck at this updating thing, but my mom hasn't been around lately so I have been visiting her everyday after school, then I have gymnastics everyday, and homework. I'm trying to update quicker though! hahah. PLEASE REVIEW!

andd, the next chapter will have some more action. A kiss maybe? haha pun completely intended.

Sherrie.


	5. Chapter 5

**Feel the Beat**

**Chapter Five**

**Girlfriend**

Thanks for reading!

Lilly was a little early to practice, so she decided to wait in the lobby. She considered just going in and talking to Joe until it started, but she wasn't sure if that'd be too unprofessional. Maybe he didn't think they were friends, he was just _friendly _to al his students.'

As she plopped down into a seat, she got bored instantly, so she texted Oliver. After waiting four minutes, there was still no response, so instead she just sat there tapping her foot to Jingle Bels, which she could hear coming from one of the Piano lesson rooms.

Suddenly, Joe walked out of the bathroom, and almost blew right past her. Doing a double take, Joe stopped, noticing Lilly.

"Hey! How long have you been here?" He asked, seemingly happy to see her.

She shrugged. "Not long, five minutes." She answered.

For some reason he looked a little disspaointed. She wasn't sure why, "Oh. Well you could have come in my room, I'm just sitting in there." He laughed nervously, then waved his hand in a motion for her to follow him. She still had ten mintues until her class was supposed to start.

As Lilly sat down in her normal chair, Joe suddenly started feeling nervous. He wasn't one to be shy around girls, but Lilly was beautiful. He loved the way her shiny blond hair ran down her shoulders, and the way her bright blue eyes sparkled. It wasn't the first time he noticed her looks, but it was the first time that she seemed so kissable to him. So hard to resist. Not that he would ever admit to having read it, but he felt like Edward from Twilight, trying to resist Bella. Minus, of course, the vampire business.

"What have you been up too?" Joe asked her, trying to get away from the awkwardness and strike up a conversation.

"Since I last saw you... not much. I live a pretty boring life." Lilly laughed nervously. At least he wasn't the only one.

Joe laughed. "No big. Me too. Since we last saw each other I pretty much just laid in bed. Not even kidding." Joe said, smiling.

She chuckled, but was cut off by Joe's phone ringing. After looking at the caller I.D. and rolling his eyes, Joe walks over to the wall across the room, leans against it, and answers the call anyway.

"Emily, I'm busy-" Joe started, but stopped abruptly,

"I already told you I can't..." Joe said, his tone sounding sad. He listened for a minute, then responded, "Well I don't know what you want me to say... we've talked about this so many times and there's nothing I can do, okay? So can you please stop bringing this up every two seconds?" Joe snapped, his eyes flashing with anger. Joe was holding the phone away from his ear so he couldn't hear his girlfriend's yelling.

Lilly was sitting in her chair, tapping her foot nervously and picking off her already- chipped bright blue nail polish, trying to distract herself. Joe glanced over at the blond, seeing her hair cascading over her face, and he felt guilty. He was fighting with his girlfriend on the phone, in the same room as the girl that he was starting to believe he had feelings for,

Joe started again in a calmer tone, "Listen, I'm sorry Emily, but working right now." He paused. Lilly assumed it was Emily's turn to talk now. " Yeah, I'll call you later. Mhm, you too. Bye." He snapped his phone shut, running his hand through his hair nervously as he walked back over to Lilly and sat down.

"Sorry about that," He mumbled. Joe saw her nod her head slightly, put she kept looking down, still picking at her nails. He moved his head down lower to try and see her face, "What's wrong?" He asked hesitantly.

Lilly finally looked up, and when she did, Joe saw a fire in her eyes. "I just don't get why you put up with it." She stated. Joe looked confused." I mean, sorry if you think I'm being nosy, but you were like right there on the phone, so how could I not be? She just seems like such a bitch! And you just stood there and let her yell at you-"

"Lilly-" Joe tried to get a word in.

"No, Joe, just let me finish. You said all that stuff about her just wanting you to take you out. If she doesn't actually want to be with_ you_, then what's the point? I don't get it. I meant it when I said that you deserve better than that." Lilly told him earnestly, feeling surprisingly jealous.

She searched his eyes, trying to find out what he was was a flash of anger, but it seemed to be gone in an instance. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, he leaned in, cupping Lilly's face in his hand, and brought his lips to hers gently.

Lilly was surprised at how gentle he was, as his soft lips moved against hers. Getting lost in the moment, she began to kiss him back for a moment. Coming to her senses she realized that Joe has a girlfriend. She always promised herself that she'd never cheat on anyone. Or with anyone. Not to be dramatic, but her dad had cheated on her mom, and it ended up ruining their marriage. She didn't want to be that kind of person.

She reluctantly pulled away, leaving Joe confused. She looked down at her shoes. "Joe... you have a girlfriend." She whispered, barely audible, slowly bringing her eyes up to meet his.

Joe didn't know what to say. She was right. But did he really want his girlfriend more that he wanted Lilly? Was that even possible? He brought his hand up to her cheek and brushed his thumb against it gently. She involuntarily leaned into his palm, her feelings for him growing more each second.

Coming back to reality, Lilly looked down at her converse. She knew he couldn't want her, plain old Lilly. He's a rockstar, with a girlfriend who is probably drop dead gorgeous. What could he possible do with her? "I... I think I'm gonna go." Joe didn't want her to go.

"Lilly..." He said taking her wrist as she turned.

She turned around. "I'll see you later, Joe." She said shortly and left. Joe let her go this time.

I skipped gymnastics because i was soo tired and I never have time to write anymore, so i Hope you enjoyed this!

Please review!!

Sherrie.


	6. Chapter 6

Feel the Beat

Chapter Six

Bed& Tunes

I don't know if anyone noticed, but Joe is now "joe gray". I got a review that said I'd be report saying that I'd be reported if it wasn't changed. thankfully they were nice about it and gave me a chance to fix it. no big deal... here it is!

Joe was early for his lesson with Lilly, hoping she would be too so they could talk. It would be the first time they saw each other since their kiss, he had been dying to talk to her. He spent three days thinking about it, wondering how she felt, and trying to figure out what he was going to do.

"Um, excuse me, Mr. Gray?" The secretary at the front desk stopped him.

He kept walking slowly but turned to her.

"Yeah, Linda?" He asked.

"You're lesson was canceled today. We got a call from a Miss-" She paused, looking down at a paper on her desk, "a Miss Truscott? She was mumbling some incoherent things about an appointment? And thinking? I don't know, she sounded quite crazy to me, but any-who, sorry. We tried calling but there was no answer. And I'm assuming you didn't get the voicemail...?" Linda went on, pushing her glasses to the bridge of her nose.

Joe nodded, blowing out a big breath of air. He patted his back pocket, where his phone was usually nestled. Not there. He must of left it on his bed. "Alright, thanks Linda." He turned and waved, walking back out to his car. He couldn't lie to himself, he was disappointed that he didn't get to see Lilly. He was dying to talk to someone. Lilly in particular.

Lilly was lying at home in her bed, the soothing tunes of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's playing in the back ground. She sighed contently. Since her kiss with Joe she had been confused. The kiss made her realize she wanted Joe. Really badly. But it was wrong; Joe had a girlfriend.

"Hey Buddy," Oliver said, bursting into her room unexpectedly. Lilly groaned and rolled over, hiding her face in her pillow. She grabbed the stereo remote that was lying on her mattress next to her pillow and turned the volume up.

"Lils? What's wrong?" He asked, sitting on her bed next to her, putting his hand on her back, shaking her.

She shoved his hand away. "Oliver, enough." She said, rolling over and sitting up, leaning against her head board.

"Sorry, just making sure you were concise!" He exclaimed.

Lilly laughed and smacked his shoulder. "You're an idiot." She joked.

"Miley made me come over." He informed her.

"Oh. Is it super terrible to see your best friend?" Lilly asked.

Oliver laughed at her distraught expression and messed up hair. "No, of course I wanted to see my BFF!" Oliver said in his girly voice. Lilly giggled. Oliver has had girl best friends for too long. "But no, Miley called me and was freaking out because you weren't answering you're phone. She was busy-"

"Typical," Lilly interjected.

"Yeah. So she wanted me to come check on you. Therefore, I was just making sure you were concise!" Oliver explained, thinking this made his actions totally normal.

Lilly grabbed her phone off the bed side table. Opening it, she saw that there were 13 missed calls. Leave it to Miley to call 13 times. Seeing as she was sleeping, her phone was on silent and she missed them all.

"Alright well, I'm alive, so you can leave now." Lilly said, flopping back down onto her bed.

Oliver sighed. "Well I'm I might as well see what is wrong with you..."

"Nothing is wrong with me, Oliver." Lilly gritted.

He gave her a stern look. "Don't lie to me, Lillian." Oliver instructed. He stopped talking and waited for an answer.

After a minute, Lilly decided to just tell him. Why not? Deep down, he was still a guy, and maybe he'd have some good advice. "Um... Joe kissed me yesterday..." Lilly said quietly.

Oliver gasped. "Wait...what?!" Oliver exclaimed.

She rolled her eyes. "I said Joe kissed me yesterday."

"And you're _upset? Really_ Lils?" Oliver said, shocked.

Lilly cleared her throat. "No, I'm not upset that he kissed me...it was great... I think I like him..." Lilly blushed. "But he has a girlfriend." She finished.

"Yikes." Oliver said, making a face.

"Yeah, Yikes." Lilly agreed.

"Well, does he like you?" Oliver asked.

Lilly shrugged, "I kind of um, left, right after we kissed..." Lilly said, ashamed.

"Lilly! He probably thinks he messed up! Why would you leave?" Oliver exclaimed wildly.

"I don't know Oliver... it was weird. He was a girlfriend! I felt guilty!" She told him

"DId he try and stop you?" Oliver asked.

Lilly nodded. "He tried, but I left, and he didn't come after me after that."

"He probably didn't want to scare you." Oliver told her.

Lilly sighed, "I blew him off today too. I'm supposed to be at my lesson right now."

"Lilly, you should talk to him." He advised.

She groaned, bringing her hands up to her face. "Why?"

"Do you really like him?" Oliver asked again, pulling her hands away from her face. Lilly nodded. "Well that's why."

Oliver checked his watch. "Sorry Lils, I have to go. I'm meeting up with Becca." He told her. Becca was Oliver's girlfriend. He patted her leg, standing up, "You know what you have to do." He told her.

"I know, I know..." She sighed. Oliver walked over to the doors.

"Bye, Lils," He smiled at his friend.

"Later Ollie." She said, and with that, he left. Lilly was grateful she had such an awesome best friend.

She groaned and dramatically threw herself back onto the bed. After her talk with Oliver, she knew she had to tell Joe something, but she didn't know what. She wanted to tell him to break up with his girlfriend and be with her, so she could have those kisses all the time, but she knew that wouldn't be right. Maybe Joe didn't even want her... maybe he just got lost in the moment.

Meanwhile... Joe had went home and was now laying in his bed, also listening to music. Loud music. Bursting through the door, Nick came and and pressed the eject button on Joe's stereo, throwing the CD on the ground.

Joe shot up. "Hey! What are you doing!? Put that back in! I was listening to it!" He shouted at his brother.

"Dude, get up. Get out of the house. You're music is driving me INSANE. I can't write lyrics when all I hear is you're wining music, blaring through my room." Nick exclaimed angrily.

"Whoa, calm down. I was just relaxing. I've had a stressful day." Joe said, leaning back into his pillows.

"Has it been soo hard for you, not having work today?" Nick mocked him.

Joe rolled his eyes. "No, that's not it."

Nick shrugged, "I'd ask what it was, but you're girlfriends here. She's been calling and texting me non stop, asking where you were. I told her to stop calling me and to just come see for herself." Nick said, backing out of the room.

"Wait, Nick," Joe said.

Nick stopped. "Yeah?"

"WIll you tell Emily I'm not home? Please?" Joe begged.

Nick shook his head. "I can't do that to her dude, she knows you're here. You're cars in the driveway. Sorry," Nick said genuinely. Joe loved his younger brother. Even when he was annoyed with Joe, he was always there for him.

"Fine..." Joe sighed, and just then, Emily walked in.

A wave of guilt fell over Joe as the pretty girl walked into the room, kissing Joe on the cheek. He wished it was Lilly, and that made him feel even more guilty.

"Hey baby," She cooed, sitting next to him on the bed as he straightened himself up, leaning against the head board.

Nick waved and backed out of the room, shutting the door.

"How have you been?" She asked Joe.

He shrugged, "Decent. You?"

"Same," She responded shortly. This was followed by silence. And it wasn't that comfortable silence that you get with people that are close to you, it was actually pretty awkward.

Joe pretended to check to time. "Oh shoot! I have a lesson in 20 minutes!" He exclaimed, and Emily believed he's acting.

"Darn it. I wanted to go out to lunch or something! I miss you. Can we go out tonight?" She asked him, standing up like him.

Joe sighed. "You know I can't go out Emily." He told her

She rolled her eyes. "Right. I forgot." She then leaned up on her tipsy toes, kissing him softly. Joe pulled away after not long, and tapped his watch, sorry got to get going.

She left, and he left soon after. He decided to take a drive. At a red light he saw a paper on the passenger seat, catching his attention. It was the paper that Lilly had to fill out to take her guitar lessons. On it was a bunch of useless facts and dates about her, but nine numbers caught his attention. Her cell number.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he texted her.

_Better not plan on ditching me again! See you thursday, Lilly._

_-Joe_

He sent. Somewhere, a few miles away, Lilly smiled as she read the message.

Haha lame last line, I know. Sorry if this was kind of boring, but i like hearing about lilly and oliver's friendship. i think they're cute friends haha. thanks to all the readers and reviewers!!

Please REVIEW!

Sherrie


	7. Chapter 7

Feel The Beat

Chapter Seven

Deal.

Lilly knew she should get out of bed and go to her guitar lesson. She knew she should just go and talk to Joe, and make things normal again. Yet, she couldn't seem to pull herself out of bed and do what she knew she should. She could skip one more lesson. What would the difference be. She slowly drifted back to sleep.

"LILLIAN TRUSCOT!" Her mother's booming voice woke her. She groaned and rolled her pillow over her ears.

"LILLY! Come down here RIGHT NOW!" Her mother's voice called.

Sighing, she got out of bed and went downstairs. Her mother wasn't home often, and when she was they didn't get along well. She wished her dad was still with them. Even with all the resentment she held towards him, she still missed him. They understood each other.

"Yeah Mom?" Lilly mumbled, walking into the kitchen.

"I just got a call." She stated. Lilly hated when her mom made everything so dramatic. Couldn't she ever just get to the point.

"Cool?" Lilly replied sarcastically.

Lilly's mom gave her a stern look. "Don't use that tone with me, Lilly." She huffed. "I got a call about you missing your guitar lesson. I don't pay that money to have you skipping your lessons." Her mom's tone had softened, but not much.

"Then stop paying the money. I didn't want lessons." Lilly sneered.

"Enough, Lilly. I don't appreciate your attitude, and truthfully I don't understand where it's coming from." Her mom snapped. Of course she didn't understand, she wasn't even home enough to know her own daughter.

When Lilly didn't say anything in response, her mom sighed. "Go get dressed, you're already five minutes late." With that, Lilly retreated to her room, making a note to slam the door. It was childish, but she knew it was one of her mother's pet peeves.

Annoyed, Lilly looked through her clothes for something to wear. Last night she couldn't sleep, scenario after scenario about her and Joe were continuously running through her mind.

She was now convinced that Joe didn't want her. She had seen pictures of his girlfriend and him online, and she was gorgeous. Emily was probably a model. Lilly was nothing in comparison to that, she knew she couldn't compete. She had convinced herself that Joe was just using her for a back up, incase anything bad happened with him and his girlfriend. She decided that they would forget about the kiss. If Joe wanted to do something about it, preferably break up with his girlfriend, he would do it in his own time.

"Your late," Joe commented as Lilly came through the door. As if her morning wasn't bad enough.

Lilly rolled her eyes. "No way," She snapped.

Joe chuckled at her reaction. "So, how are you?"

Lilly was frustrated with the small talk. She was hoping Joe would say something along the lines of 'Guess what? I broke up with my girlfriend!'

"Fine." Lilly said shortly, and then realized she didn't really have a reason to be so snappy with him, so she added, "and you?"

Joe smiled, "I'm good, thanks."

"You canceled yesterday?" Joe said as Lilly was taking her guitar out of it's case and getting situated. He hadn't asked the question directly, but Lilly knew what he meant.

She continued fumbling around with her case, not wanting to meet his eyes, "Yeah, I was busy... sorry." Joe nodded, not believing her answer.

"Busy with what?" he questioned. Lilly finally looked up at him and sighed. She was embarrassed. After analyzing what had happened between them so much she felt dumb. How could this famous musician ever want her? It was ridiculous in Lilly's mind.

She sighed, "Can we not talk about it?" she asked softly.

Anger and frustration were now evident on Joe's face. He was hoping she would want to talk about this. He was hoping that maybe she was as confused as he was. Unfortunately he didn't know what was going through her mind. "Fine, then can we talk about what happened 2 days before that?" He snapped.

Lilly didn't understand that his angry tone was out of frustration. She was wondering if he was angry about what had happened. That was not what she had expected.

"Can we not..." Lilly replied.

Joe rolled his eyes at the stubborn girl, "No, Lilly, I think we should. I know it was wrong, but-"

Lilly cut him off. "Joe can we just forget about it?" She pleaded. She chagrin in her eyes made Joe stop. She didn't want to hear about why Joe thought it was wrong. She didn't need to feel any more embarrassed about it.

"Okay." He agreed gently, hurt registering in his eyes. He had it all planned out. He had decided he wanted Lilly. He was going to choice her over Emily. But that didn't matter now.

Lilly didn't understand why he looked sad. He was about to tell her how it was a mistake anyway, he should want to forget it. She figured that if he really wants her, he'll do something about it.

Joe swallowed, then cleared his throat. "Well... I guess we should get started." He said, smiling slightly. It looked like it was taking him a good amount effort to hold it there.

Lilly nodded, and got ready to work on their song.

After about only twenty minutes of practice, their time was up since Lilly had showed up late.

Lilly was packing up her things in silence when Joe spoke up, "Hey, let's not let this whole deal make things weird between us, okay?" he said. Lilly looked up at him. He had his hand out, wanting her to shake on it.

"Deal." Lilly agreed, shaking his hand. He grinned at her, and she blushed, pulling her hand back.

She grabbed her guitar off the floor and headed out. Joe was walking her through he lobby to the main door.

"So, will I see you next time? Or will you be too 'busy'...?" Joe smirked, teasing her.

Lilly laughed, slapping his shoulder playfully. "Be quiet." she smiled.

"See you later, Lilly," He chuckled.

She couldn't help her grin, "Bye, Joe." As Lilly walked out to her car he thought about how much she wished he didn't have a girlfriend. It would make things so much less complicated. So much easier for them.

Things had continued the same way for the pair over the next week. They were friends, and they were getting along. Joe was still with his girlfriend, and Lilly was still wishing he wasn't. And, although Lilly didn't know it, he was secretly wishing he wasn't too.

Hey guys! sorrys its short, but the next chapter will be up like soon. actually for once ahha. im already writing it i just didn't want it to be connected with this one.

thanks for reading! please review!!


	8. Chapter 8

Feel the Beat

Chapter Eight

It had been about a week and a half since Lilly and Joe had the "talk" about their kiss, and things had gone back to normal for them, and both were grateful for this.

Waking up on tuesday morning, Lilly was exhausted. Miley had a night free of any Hannah commitments, so she had convinced Lilly to go to a party with her.

Lilly normally would have enjoyed herself, going out with her best friend, but all of her thoughts that night were centered around Joe. Even when she was dancing with Brody, and attractive senior that Miley had met and introduced her to, she was wishing it was Joe.

Tiredly, she threw on an old sweatshirt and jeans, her gray converse, and she pulled her hair that was still curled from last night into a pony tail. Her mom was already gone for the day at work, she noticed as she came downstairs to grab an apple on her way out.

As she pulled out of the driveway, Lilly saw the mailman just leaving their house. He must have come early today. Lilly stopped and grabbed the mail before heading back to her car. Stopped at a red light about a block away from the studio, she flipped through the envelopes.

Bills, bills, more bills, nothing interesting, and then something shocked her. An envelope addressed to her, from her father. A father that hadn't spoken or tried to get in contact with his daughter for a few years. Pulled from her shock, Lilly heard a car honking from behind her. She looked up and saw the light had turned green.

Once she pulled into the parking lot, Lilly turned off the car and ripped open the envelope.

It was an invitation. A wedding invitation, to be exact. The glittery white card had a pink ribbon woven around the edges and in the middle it had the details of the wedding in an elegant script. James Truscott and Marsha Collins. Lilly hadn't even heard the woman's name before. The sad thought that the name of the woman her father was about to marry didn't even sound familiar made her eyes water. Not wanting to get all emotional right before she had to go into her lesson, Lilly through the letter on the passenger seat, and leaned over to get her guitar from the floor there.

That's when she saw the hand written letter in her dad's messy scrawl on the opposite side of the wedding invitation. It read..

Dear Lilly,

First of all, I would like to say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not keeping in touch. Despite what you probably believe, I miss you. I'm sorry that my wedding is the first you hear of this new life of mine. It's been hard starting over without you and your mom, and I think about you everyday Lilly. If you want to ignore this invitation, I completely understand. I've been a horrible father to you, but it would mean the world to me if you came. It could give us the chance to start over Lilly. I want to know you, and I want you to know me again. The tickets are in the envelope, I really hope you can make it, Lils.

Love always,

Dad.

Lilly's eyes were watering before, but now the tears were pouring from her eyes. Despite everything, she missed her dad. She missed him driving them to all her soccer practices, him listening to her every word, even though her stories mainly had no point. Her dad had only missed one soccer game, and it the day he was leaving them. She didn't play again after that night he hadn't showed.

She remembered going to the zoo with him. It had always been their thing. Even when she was 13 and all the other kids thought the zoo was dumb, she still went every summer with her dad, because she knew he loved taking her.

She remembered even further back when he used to play her favorite game with him, wedding. In her dress up closet Lilly had a white, puffy dress that she loved to put on and walk down the long hallway in their upstairs, with her father at her side, his arm through hers. When they got to the end of the hallway, he would quickly grab his bible and turn into the Minister, marrying her and her pretend boyfriend.

Lilly had cried herself to sleep every night for months when he left during her freshman year. It hurt her to see Miley' relationship with her dad, because it was what she used to have with her own father. She missed him, and it took her until junior year to move on and accept that he wouldn't be a part of her life anymore

She picked up the envelope that the card had came in off the floor and noticed that they were indeed, two plane tickets inside. Not wanting to deal with any of this right now, Lilly threw the card and envelope on the passenger side floor, grabbed her guitar and made her way inside.

Before she opened the door where Joe was probably waiting for her, she quickly wiped her eyes again, hoping he wouldn't notice.

"Hey Lily," he said , distracted by something he was writing, probably lyrics.

"Hi," She responded, her voice coming up much softer and weaker than she had wanted. Joe looked up when he heard her tone.

He quickly got up from his chair and came over to her. "Are you okay?" he asked, concern obvious in his eyes.

Lilly nodded and let out a water laugh. She wiped the remaining wetness from her eyes. "Yeah, sorry," she said embarrassedly.

Joe touched her shoulder gently, "Lilly, whats wrong?" She was moved by the amount of concern in his eyes, he truly looked like he cared, which was more than she could say about her dad for all those years. Involuntarily, another tear dropped from her eye at this thought. She looked down at her scuffed up shoes, trying to hid her face from Joe. He noticed, and took a step closer, using his index finger to softly lift up her chin and look her in the eyes.

He tenderly wiped the tear that was running down her cheek, and gently smiled at her. "I'm okay," she whispered, "it's just stupid family stuff." Lilly said, giving another watery chuckle.

Nodding slowly, Joe took a step back. "All right... but just know, if you ever want someone to talk to, I'm here." he told her, making Lilly's heart flutter.

"I'll remember that." Lilly said honestly, walking over to her seat, crossing her legs. Joe sat down in his seat across from her. It made her happy to know that Joe wanted to be there for her.

WIth five minutes left of their lesson, Lilly smiled happily and clapped her hands excitedly. They had finally nailed the song they had been working on.

Joe jumped up, hugging Lilly tightly, pulling her out of her seat. She let out a happy laugh.. "You did it!" He exclaimed.

Lilly pulled away after a moment so that their arms were still around each other, but they were looking into each other's eyes.

"Lilly..." he whispered, searching her eyes, seeing that she wanted it too. She saw what was coming, yet she was still shocked at how amazing it was to kiss Joe when he leaned in.

Joe's hands found their way to Lilly's waist, pulling her body closer to his, which she allowed. He pushed them up to the wall, not far behind Lilly, and leaned into her. Her arms snaked around his neck, playing with the long hairs at the nape of his neck. Joe groaned softly. Joe's hands moved under her tee shirt, the warm skin of his hands now on her hips. His tongue entered her mouth, and they stayed attached until breathing was necessary. Letting Lilly catch her breath, Joe's lips moved down her jaw and to her neck, sucking lightly. Lilly sighed contently, and Joe moved his lips back to hers, continuing what they were doing before.

All of the sudden Joe broke away, turning away from Lilly. He cursed under his breath.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he slowly turned back around to face her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, stepping closer to him, letting her hand touch the wrist hanging next to his side gently.

Joe kept his gazes on the floor. "I.... I'm still with Emily...." he admtted, finally looking up to see her reaction.

Sorry to leave it here. i thought this would be up a lot sooner than it was because i knew what i was going to do, but i kept re writing it and still dont like it but i figured i should put it on, soo i hope you liked it.

thanks for reading!

reviews are nicee.


	9. Chapter 9

Feel The Beat

Chapter Nine

Quitter

Lilly sighed angrily. "Really Joe? Again? You know how I felt the first time this happened, why would it be different now?" Lilly exclaimed, frustrated with the boy. If he was going to keep kissing her, why wouldn't he just break up with his damn girlfriend already?

"But it is different now! I'm going to break up with her. I want to be with you, Lilly... that is if you want to be with me..." He trailed off. Lilly's heart jumped. He wanted to be with her? She almost jumped into his arms, but then she remembered the problem at hand.

"Joe.. I do want to be with you... but thats just it. If you really wanted to be with me, you would have broken up with your girlfriend the first time this happened." Lilly glanced up at him. She wished it was simple. She wished that she could just be with him, and that they didn't have to worry about dumb stuff like a girlfriend he didn't want to be with. But it wasn't that simple, and she believed that if Joe wanted to be with Lilly, he wouldn't be with Emily.

The expression on Joe's face made Lilly's heart ache. He looked sad, and confused, like he wanted her to understand what he was saying but she didn't. He opened his mouth to say something, but silently shut it right away.

"I'm sorry, Lilly," Joe said quietly.

"For what Joe? For cheating on you girlfriend again?" She replied stubbornly.

Joe rolled his eyes, "No. Well, that too I guess, but I'm sorry for not doing what I should have earlier. I was confused, and now that I have finally made my decision, your pissed at me and I don't know what to do." Joe admitted, letting out a breath of air he didn't realize he had been holding in.

"Well, I guess I'll just give you some time to figure that out." Lilly said, grabbing her guitar case, walking out the door.

Frustrated, Joe sat down on the ground with his head in his hands, wondering what to do with this girl. Why was she so hard to figure out?

When Joe got home that day his mom was waiting in the kitchen to talk to him.

"Hi honey," She said, putting a sandwich in front of him as he sat at the table.

"Hey mom," He said unenthusiastically. He had been down ever since the scene with Lilly.

Denise sat down next to him at the table, folding her hands infront of her. "I just wanted to talk to you about the whole working situation." She told him.

Joe looked up, "What about it?" he asked.

"Well, I noticed your change in attitude lately. You haven't even complained once about going to teach." His mom said proudly. Little did she know it was because of Lilly. "So, I decided you don't have to go anymore!" She ended cheerily, waiting for Joe's happy reaction. It didn't come.

"Thanks mom, but I actually like the job. It turned out better than I thought." He told her. He noticed his moms facial expression drop.

"Oh honey.. I'm sorry..." She apologized.

Confusion filled Joe's features. He gently laid his hand on his mother's. "For what mom?"

She looked down guiltily, "Well, you see, I didn't expect you to enjoy working. I thought I was being nice... and I told them... I told them you weren't going to come back anymore." She looked up at her son sheepishly. He drew his hand away from her. Why would she do that? She hadn't even asked him if that's what he wanted. Hell, she hadn't even asked him anything about his job since he had started.

"Why would you do that?" He said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice, because he knew his mom only meant well.

"I thought you would be happy, I'm sorry Joe." She apologized again.

"What about Li- I mean the girl I was teaching? What's she supposed to do now? Just quit playing?" He persisted.

"No honey, there are other guitar teachers, they said they'd just set her up with someone else. Why are you so worried about this girl anyway?" Denise asked. Joe just shook his head and stood up form the table, going up to his room.

Lilly was going to think he was just some stuck up, spoiled ass hole who couldn't even keep a job. Fabulous.

When Lilly went to her next practice, she automatically went to room 6; Joe's room. The room was unusually quiet as she opened the door. She could feel that something wasn't right. Taking in the view of the room, she realized it was empty. The Ramones trash can that Joe always had filled with crinkled-up, lyric scribbled notebook paper was now gone. The few posters he had hung up had been taken down. Not even his stack of sheet music that usually rested on top of the piano was there. The only the that remained in the room was Joe's scent, the one that Lilly had become so used to.

Someone cleared their throat from behind her. "Excuse? Miss, are you for a lesson with Mr. Joe?" Startled, Lilly turned around as the receptionist spoke to her.

"Uh yeah, at least I thought I was. Do you know where he is?"

An apologetic look spread across the receptionist's face. "Yeah, unforunately he isn't teaching here anymore. I thought I called everyone on the list of his students to tell them, sorry dear, I guess I missed your name." She said polietly.

"Wait- not teaching her anymore? He's not coming back?" Lilly asked, astonished.

The middle-aged woman nodded, "Correct."

Lilly was perplexed. "Well, um..." Lilly started, at a loose of words, "do you know why?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, I don't. Something about his punishment being over. I believe that is what his mother said. But, we do have a new teacher for you. If you'd like to come back tomorrow, Greg has time for you at four." The woman offered.

Nodding, Lilly thanked the woman and left. She threw her guitar angrily into the trunk of her car, speeding out of the parking lot. She thought Joe would have at least told her. They were getting close, and now he just left. Hell, he even told her he wanted to be with her! Forget being with her, they may not even get to be friends now because she may never see him again. Way to go Joe, you big quitter.

After thinking for a an hour or so, Joe finally decided that he needed to go talk to Lilly. He needed to apologize for leaving so suddenly, and hope that she understands.

Walking into the kitchen with his car keys in hand, Joe ran into Nick.

"Hey, Bro, where are you going? Did you forget about band practice?" Nick stopped him.

"Shit," Joe mumbled. He had hoped he could get out of the house with no one noticing. "Uh, no... of course I didn't forget. What time is it at again?" Joe asked sheepishly.

Nick chuckled."It's in ten minutes dude."

Joe ran his hand through his hair nervously. "Could we possibly push it back to tomorrow?" Joe asked.

Nick sighed. "We can't Joe. Our tour starts in just a couple months and we still have so much to work on. Ever since you started working we haven't been able to practice at all. We're going to sound like shit this summer." Nick said frustradely.

Joe sighed, feeling guilty. "Well, you won't have to worry about me working too much anymore... Mom quit for me."

"Seriously? Then where are you going?" The younger brother asked, puzzled.

"I really need to explain some things to Lilly." He answered.

"Lilly? Who is Lilly?" Nick's eyebrows furrowed as he asked this. Joe could tell Nick wasn't going to give up.

"She's just this girl I taught." Joe said urgently, wanting to leave before he was too late.

"Ooh, so she's probably more important than the band?" Nick said sarcastically.

Joe smacked his head, as if what his younger brother said was ridiculous: although in his mind Lilly wasn't to far down in the line of importance.

"Please Joe, just stay. You, Kev, and I are all here for once, let's just get some stuff done." Nick pleaded. In a quieter tone he added, "I feel like I'm the only one who cares about us anymore..." Us being the band.

This softened Joe. Instantly feeling guilty, like he hadn't been there enough for his little brother, Joe agreed. "All right, let's go practice." He said, ruffling his brother's hair. Nick smiled, then called kevin down so they could start.

Because Joe decided to drop Lilly, she had a free day, and decided to call Oliver. It had been a while since that had last hung out and she felt she should give her faithful best friend some more attention. Maybe this could be good... this break from each other. After all, they had been spending most of their days together. It probably wasn't healthy.

But then again, it's probably not healthy for them to be apart...

Hey guys! I know it's been like years since I've updated, but I had gymnastics, my grandpa died, we're putting my dog down, I got a frog, and a bajillion other things that have been keeping me busy, I'm sorry.

please review!


	10. Chapter 10

Feel The Beat

Chapter Ten

Joe was distracted all throughout his band practice, thinking about Lilly. Only about fifteen minutes into practice, Kevin got annoyed with Joe constantly messing up lyrics, and missing all his cues.

The oldest brother suddenly stopped playing. "Joe!" He yelled over Nick's drumming, trying to get his brother's attention.

Joe stopped playing also, looking over to kevin, confused. "What man?"

"What's up with you? You're off today." Kevin said in concerned older brother manner.

Joe sighed, "I just have a lot of shit on my mind right now, sorry."

"Maybe we should just finish practicing later then." Kevin suggested in an annoyed tone, not satisfied with Joe's answer.

The youngest brother intervened, "Kev, come on. Let's just keep going. Joe, can you try and concentrate more?" Nick said calmly, always being the mediator.

Joe nodded, "Yeah, Nick. Sorry guys." Kevin didn't say anything, but picked up his guitar playing where he left off, followed closely by his two brothers.

They finished practicing around 10:30, and Joe retreated to his room, exhausted. He debated going to Lilly's, but decided that it was too late and he'd just go tomorrow.

Lilly and Oliver were sprawled out on her bed harmlessly, with a large bowl of popcorn between them and Twizzlers hanging from their mouthes. They were watching Nightmare Before Christmas, Oliver's favorite movie. Lilly didn't really like to watch except around halloween, but she often did, just for Oliver.

So distracted with her time with Oliver, Lilly had almost forgot about her situation with Joe. That was of course, only until Oliver so wisely brought him up.

He turned to her, "So, how are things with you and Joe?" He said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Lilly sighed and shook her head. "None existent."

"What do you mean? It seemed pretty existent to me..." Oliver said curiously.

"Yeah, well..." She sighed, not wanting to think about.

"What happened, Lils?" Oliver asked softly, not joking anymore.

She shrugged her shoulders and looked at her best friend. "He kissed me again last time I saw him, and I left to give him time to think because he still hadn't broken up with his girlfriend, and then I went back today and he just wasn't there. He quit, apparently, and didn't even bother to tell me." She said quietly, trying to keep the tears in that wanted to fall so desperately.

Oliver sighed now. "Aw Lils, he's not worth your time." He told her like a best friend should. "Who needs a sexy musician anyway?" Oliver laughed and Lilly punched his arm. He smiled at her, then turned his attention back to the TV. Lilly smiled softly and laid her head on her friends shoulder, watching the movie again.

Lilly woke up, some unknown amount of time later, with a note laying next to her head.

_Lils,_

_You feel asleep... no surprise there, haha. I had to go, you know how my mom is wither curfew. DIdn't want to wake you...Goodnight, call you tomorrow. _

_Oliver_

She smiled, hoping Oliver's girlfriend appreciated him, because Oliver deserved someone awesome. Glancing at her clock and seeing it was 3:00 am, Lilly turned around to lay in her bed the right way, and fell back asleep.

Joe woke up around 12:30 the next morning, and immediately got ready to go to talk with Lilly. He threw on his dark skinny jeans, black converse, and left on the wrinkled white v-neck he already had on. There was no time to fuss over what shirt he was going to wear.

Joe rang the door bel nervously. Now that he was here, he realized that he hadn't really thought of what he was going to say to her. He waited about 3 minutes, and there was still no answer, but he wasn't going to give up. Her car was in the driveway, she must be here.

He rang the door bell three more times within the next ten minutes, but there was still no answer. Frustrated and desperate, Joe rang the door bell repeated. After about seven in a row, Lilly opened the door, her hair uncombed, wearing a shirt that matched his, and a pair of pajama box shorts. He must have woken her up.

Before the door even revealed him Lilly was mad. "Jesus christ! You are so annoying! It's like five am!" She threw the door open, and was surprised to see Joe standing there.

"Hello..." He said awkwardly, running a hand through his hair.

"Joe?" She said, shocked.

"Hi Lils."

"What the hell are you doing here so early?" She asked angrily.

Joe couldn't help but chuckle. "Lilly, it's like 1:00." He stated.

She looked a little embarrassed. "Oh," She said quietly, but then quickly recovered, "Still, what are you doing here?

"I, uh, I wanted to talk to you." He told her. Lilly stared at him for a moment, before opening the door wide enough for him to come in. She walked over to the couch and sat on the arm of it, and he followed her, remaining standing in front of her.

Lilly spoke up after a few moments of silence, "So...I thought you wanted to talk. It's awfully silent." Lilly said sarcastically.

Joe nodded, "I came here to tell you that I'm sorry."

"...For...?" Lilly responded. Joe knew that she knew what he was sorry for, but she wanted to hear it.

He sighed, "I'm sorry for leaving so abruptly. I should have at least told you."

"Yeah, that probably would have been nice." Lilly said bitterly.

"Lilly, I really am sorry. This is going to sound lame, but... my mom quit for me. She thought that she was being nice, you know since it was my punishment and all, and when I told her I didn't want her to quit for me, it was too late because she had already done it. She didn't know that I actually enjoyed teaching... and spending time with you." Joe told her. Lilly's heart softened a little.

"You still could have at least called to tell me Joe..." She said.

His eyes were regretful, "I know, I should have, and I honestly don't know why I didn't, but I know that I'm sorry."

Lilly played with the hem of her shirt, trying to look distracted. She wasn't ready to forgive him so quickly. "I'm supposed to go meet Greg today, my new teacher." She told him.

"Don't," Joe said firmly.

Lilly looked up at him, confused. "Why not? You quit on me... I'm going to need a new teacher."

Joe sighed. "I can still teach you though! And I didn't quit on you, Lilly, that's why I'm here."

"I don't know Joe..." Lilly said hesitently.

"Please, Lilly," He begged, "You can come over to my place, or I can come to you all the days we usually do." He smiled slightly.

Lilly didn't miss a beat. "How do I know you'll show up?" She spat.

Hurt filled his eyes, and Lilly felt sorry. "Lilly..."

She looked down, not wanting to get pulled in by his eyes. After thinking for a minute, she looked back up and sighed. "Fine..." She agreed, because she enjoyed learning with him, and she didn't want to have to learn with this new Greg guy.

Joe's face lit up. "But, you're just my teacher and I'm your student." She said solidly, thinking she wouldn't be able to handle anymore confusion about what was happening with them, and Joe's girlfriend and what not.

Joe looked a little saddened, but shook her hand that was outstretched anyway.

"Tomorrow?" He asked.

She nodded, "Where though?"

"Do you want to me to come here?" He asked, thinking it'd be easier for her.

She shook her head, "I don't want my mom to know I'm not going to the place anymore, it'd just be easier if I didn't have to explain it to her."

"My place then? You can come over whenever you get up." He told her.

She smirked, "Yeah, you woke me up this morning with your obnoxious ringing."

He smiled sheepishly, looking down, "Yeah, sorry about that." He told her, smiling. She bit her lip to hid her own smile, not wanting him to think he was fully forgiven yet.

Lilly stood up and they walked to the door.

"I'll call you tomorrow and give you directions to my house." He told her.

"Alright, bye." She said, shutting the door as he left.

Thinking about what she had gotten herself into, Lilly went up to her room and put on her bathing suit, and a short cover up. Miley had called her for the first time in a while and wanted to meet her at the beach.

Hey guys! thank you to those who reviewed, i really do appreciate it!

**revieww purtty pleasee**

SHERRIE


	11. Chapter 11

Feeling the Beat

Chapter 11

Lilly's phone ringing obnoxiously woke her up the next morning.

She groaned, checking the caller ID. "Joe you're starting to make a habit of this waking me up early stuff," She grumbled tiredly, not even bothering to sit up in bed.

Joe laughed, "Sorry Lils, it's just I told you I'd call you and give you directions to my house. I didn't want you to think I was forgetting about you or something." He told her.

Lilly sighed, "Well thats thoughtful, but not really necessary at 9:00 am. I'll call you when I'm awake." She mumbled, and fell back asleep almost before her phone was even closed. Lilly was most definitely not a morning person.

At 12:15 Lilly got out of bed, made herself eggs, threw on some clothes, and decided to call Joe.

"Hello?"

"Hey, I'm awake." Lilly told him.

"Earlier than I thought," Joe laughed.

"Ha ha," Lilly said dryly, "Sorry that a girl needs her sleep. I'm getting in my car, how do I get to your house?"

"Just check your mailbox, I map quested it." Joe informed her.

Lilly scoffed. "You're kidding."

She couldn't see Joe, but she knew he was shaking his head. "Unlike some people, I can't just effortlessly fall back asleep. After I called you I was up for the day, and I had a few more hours than normal." Joe explained.

"Nerd. I'll be there in... 14 minutes precisely." Lilly chuckled.

"Gotta love map-quest. See you soon," Joe said, hanging up.

Lilly showed up at the Jonas household only to be greeted by a very tired looking Joe.

He rubbed his face, "Lilly! Come in," he said, walking into the kitchen. Lilly followed him, taking in his home. It was quaint, not what you think the Jonas Brother's house would look like. It seemed like a childhood home, like it hadn't changed. They weren't the type of people to buy a new house when they had the money to, they didn't need to impress anyone.

He went to the fridge soundlessly and pulled out two Red Bulls. "You okay there, Joe?" Lilly asked, chuckling slightly.

He sighed, leaning his back against the counter. Lilly moved slightly to see him again. "Yeah, just a little tired. All this waking up early is catching up with me. I fell asleep right after I called." He smiled shyly.

Lilly backed up slowly, "Do you want me to go…? You can catch up on your sleep, I don't mind…" Lilly said, feeling like she was intruding.

"No!" Joe answered to quickly. Catching himself, he added, "I mean, I invited you. It'd be wrong to have you leave…"

She blushed, feeling a little awkward, "No it's fine. I'll go. Just um, call me and we can reschedule." She trailed, stuttering.

Joe chuckled slightly at the situation and how suddenly this awkwardness came on. "Lilly, stop." He said firmly. "I don't want you to leave."

Lilly blushed, pleased that Joe wanted her there, even if he was just trying to be polite. Joe quickly finished his Red Bulls and threw them in the recycling bin.

Lilly stared at him in disbelief. "What?" He asked, the look on his face held false confusion and a hint of amusement.

"You just drank two Red Bulls in like, five seconds! You are going to have heart palpitations!" Lilly exclaimed.

Joe scoffed, "Heart palpitations?" Joe laughed, smirking, "The only thing that changes the beat of this heart is loooveee." He said in a sing-song voice.

Lilly hit him playfully in the chest with the back of her hand, "You're such a dork."

Joe smiled and motioned with his head towards the stairs and started walking, casually throwing his arm over Lilly's shoulder. "Let's get started, shall we?"

Lilly giggled, "We shall."

Lilly looked around Joe's room, taking in the boyish smell she loved about him. Other than a few t-shirts thrown on the floor, Joe's room was clean. There were four or five guitars standing up against one of his walls. Joe grabbed two of them, then proceeded to exit his room. Lilly followed him to the end of the hallway where they went into a room that looked like an add-on.

Joe gestured proudly to the room, "This is the music room," He told her. The room had a set of drums and five more guitars. It was scattered with music and microphone stands, and stools.

Lilly nodded her head, "I like it," she smiled. Joe was happy with her acceptance of his home so far. He was often worried about showing people his home because it wasn't what people would expect, and he knew that.

Joe told her to sit and then pulled up a stool next to hers and handed her one of the guitars.

"I've actually been working on it, the first time I can honestly say I've practiced one of my instruments." Lilly informed him.

Joe smiled proudly, warming Lilly's stomach. "Well then, let's hear it!" He said to her. They continued to joke around and play for about a half an hour when they were interrupted.

The door opened and they both looked up. Joe's younger brother Nick was there. "Hey Joe, your gir-" Nick was cut of by Emily pushing past him into the room.

"Unnecessary, Nick." She retorted. Nick threw his hands up and mocked her.

"I see I'm not needed, _goodbye._" Nick rolled his eyes, leaving the room.

Joe glanced at Lilly, searching for emotion, but surprised by the nonchalant look on her face. He set down his guitar and stood up. "Emily. What are you doing here?" He asked, sounding nervous.

"What am I doing here, Joe?" She shrieked. "I'm here because you haven't answered my calls this whole morning! You're my boyfriend, yet we haven't talked in days Joe! I wanted to see you! Clearly, your busy!" She exclaimed.

"Sorry," He said regretfully, "I've been… busy." He replied.

"Busy with what exactly Joe? And who the hell is that?!" She yelled.

Joe rolled his eyes. "This is Lilly." He said in an agitated voice, not liking her using that tone about Lilly.

"What is she, your new girlfriend?!" Emily shouted, throwing her hands up. Joe ran his hands through his hair, wishing this could have happened at a different time.

Lilly tried to leave subtly, not wanting to get involved, but Joe saw her as she was almost out the door.

"Lilly, don't go." He told her. Emily looked at him in disbelief.

"You don't want _her_ to go?" She said venomously. Lilly was suddenly extremely uncomfortable.

"No, I don't." Joe replied strongly. Lilly was flattered that he was standing his ground for her, but at the same time she didn't want to make him choose. She was afraid of being rejected.

"Joe it's fine, I'm going to go." Lilly said, walking out of the room.

Joe ran out of the room after her. "Lilly stop, please stay." He begged.

Emily came out of the room after him, all three of them in the hallway now.

"Joe, if she's staying, I'm leaving." Emily told him using a firm voice. She didn't sound as angry as before, and there was more of a sad tint in her voice. Joe hesitated, and when he didn't say anything Emily pushed past Lilly and started walking down the stairs.

Joe gave Lilly an apologetic look, and followed his girlfriend down the stairs.

For the top of the stairs, Lilly could hear them talking softly in the foyer, but tried not to listen. She just wanting leave, but walking right by them right now would be to awkward.

She walked further down the hallway, out of earshot and sat down. After a few minutes, Joe came back up the stairs, looking broken up.

Lilly stood up to meet him in the hallway. She was startled by the sadness on his face.

She hesitantly laid her hand on his cheek, "Are you okay?" She asked softly. Joe nodded and looked away.

"Sorry," He said, trying to smiled.

Lilly shook her head. "Why are you sorry?" She asked genuinely.

"You shouldn't have to see me like this after I broke up with the girlfriend whom I should have broken up with weeks ago." His bluntness was a shock to her. "I don't even know why it's hurting so much." He said truthfully.

Lilly pulled him into a hug, and after a moment he hugged back. "Thanks Lilly," He whispered into her ear. She nodded against his head, rubbing his back gently.

Poor Joe. Sorry it took year. It's getting hard to write this because I can't remember the ideas I had for the characters when I got this idea into my head. I need to start writing stuff like that down… haha

Reviews please!

xoxo

Sherrie.


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